Last March 31, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, representing the national governments of its 47 member states, unanimously adopted historic recommendations to combat discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. This is the world’s first intergovernmental agreement codifying the application of human rights standards to LGBT people. The recommendations also prescribed that states should ensure national human rights structures be clearly mandated to address discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. www.ilga-europe.org
